Milk bottle safe



April 21, 1936. T. s. COLLINS I MILK BOTTLE SAFE Filed Dec. '7, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet l April 21, 1936. T. S.'COLLINS MILK BOTTLE SAFE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. '7, 1953 Patented Apr. 21, 1936 ATENT OFFER I MILK BOTTLE SAFE Thomas S.'G0l1ins, Akron, Ohio Application December '7, 1933, Serial No.'701,37-1 1 Claim. (01.232-41) One object of this invention is to provide a safe within which bottles of milk and the like may be held in security during the interval that elapses between the depositing of the bottles by the milk man, and the removal of thebottles by the customer. Another object of the invention is to provide novel means for locking and controlling the doors which give access to the casing which contains the milk bottles. A further obl0 ject of the invention is to improve the construction of the casing. Yet another object of the invention is to provide novel means whereby one of the doors may be opened from within a house, at the will of the person who has purchased the milk. A further object of the invention is to provide novel means for mounting the casing.

It is within the province of the disclosure to improve generally and to enhance the utility of devices of that type to which the invention appertains.

With the above and other objects in view, which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed, may be made within the scope of what is claimed, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 shows in top plan, a device constructed in accordance with the invention, parts being in section;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section of the casing; Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2; Fig. 6 is a fragmental transverse section showing a slight modification. 7

The device forming the subject matter of this application may be used in a widevar-iety of ways, and may be mounted as desired, without departing fromthe spirit'of the invention. By way of illustration, however, there is shown in Fig. 1, the vertical wall I of a building. In the wall I, on the inside of the house, a guide 2 is mounted.

In Fig. 1, the device described is shown as being located outside of the building. The device embodies a box-like casing 3, which may be of rectangular outline. The casing 3 comprises a body 4, open at both ends, but adapted to be closed, at those ends, by doors 8 and II, which will be described hereinafter. On the top of the body 4 of the casing 3 may be placed a rack 5, of any desired construction, adapted to hold empty bottles and the like.

Figure 2showsthat the inner wall of the body 4 is provided with holes I5, adapted to receive studs I, whereby the casing 3 is secured to the outer surface of the wall I, in a substantially horizontal position.

At one end of the body '4 there is a first or intake door 8, hingedly mounted at 9, to swing horizontally on the inner surface of the door'B (Fig. 3) near'to the free edge of the door (Fig. 5) there is an inwardly extended keeper I8. A de livery door I I is hinged at I2 to the opposite end of the body 4, to swing horizontally.

Discussing the locking mechanism for the door 8, it will be observed that, as shown in Fig. 3, for instance, a latch I4 is provided, the latch being supplied at one end with a bevelled head I5 adapted to engage automatically with the keeper IE] on the door 8. The latch I4 is carried at one end, for vertical swinging movement, on a fulcr-um element I6 mounted in the outer side wall of the body 4 of the casing 3, a spacer I'I (Fig. 2) being mounted on the fulcrum element I6, between the said wall of the casing and the latch I4. That end of the latch I4 which carries the head I5 slides vertically within a guide I8 on the wall of the body 4, as Fig. 3 will disclose.

The latch I4 is raised to the inoperative position of Fig. 3 through the instrumentality of an arm I9, provided at its upper end with a longitudinal slot 2Q, in which works a pivot element 2| carried by the latch I4. It can be seen in Fig.5, that the arm I9 has an inwardly extended, angularly disposed foot 22, attached by a securing element 23 to a vertically movable platform 24, located within the body 4 and substantially coextensive in area with the body. The securing element 23 projects some little distance below the platform 24, as Figs. 3 and 5 will show.

The platform 24 is: hingedly mounted, near to its inner edge, for vertical swinging movement. The means for thus hinging the platform 24 may be of various kinds. For instance, the platform may be mounted on studs 25, secured to the bottom of the body 4 of the casing 3, spacers 26 being interposed between the bottom of the body and the platform 24. The mounting of the platform 24 on the studs 25 is loose enough so that the platform 24 can have the aforesaid vertical swinging movement. A spring means is provided for raising the free edge of the platform 24, and this means may be of any desired sort. By way of illustration, an inwardly extended leaf spring 21 is shown in Fig. 5. The inner end of the leaf spring 21 bears on the bottom of the body 4, and the outer end of the leaf spring is attached by a securing device 28 to the platform 24. The. leaf spring 21 is located between the platform 24 and the bottom of the body 4.

There is a keeper 29 (Figs. 2 and 4) on the outer wall of the body 4 of the casing 3. With this keeper 29, the horizontal arm 30 of a bell crank latch 3| is adapted to cooperate, to hold the door H closed. The bell crank latch 3| is fulcrumed at 32 on the door II, and includes a depending vertical arm 34, the horizontal arm 30 of the bell crank latch working in a guide 33 on the door I I. In the lower portion of the vertical depending arm 34 of the bell crank latch 3| an elongated slot 35 is formed.

It can be seen in Fig. 4, that the slot 35 in the arm 34 of the latch 3| receives a pivot element 36, carried by the inner end of a slide 31, mounted for right line reciprocation in guides 38 on the inner surface of the door I A pull spring 39 is attached at one end to the intermediate portion of the slide 31, the opposite end of the pull spring being attached to the innermost guide 38. In general, however, the spring means for operating the slide 31 may be constructed as desired. Figure 2 shows that the inner end of the. slide 31 has a rectangularly disposed finger 40, mounted in the path of a means under the control of an operator for actuating the slide 31. The aforesaid means may be a plunger 4|, mounted for straight line reciprocation in the wall I and in the guide 2 of Fig. 1, the plunger 4| being supplied at its inner end with a push button 42, disposed within the. house.

When the device is in condition to receive milk bottles at the hand of the milk man, the positions of the various parts are as follows:

The spring 21 of Fig. 5 elevates the platform 24, the platform swinging upwardly on the studs 25 of Fig. 4. The arm I9, which is attached at 23 to the platform 24 is raised. The pivot element 2| in the latch I4 is at the lower end of the slot 20 in the upper end of the arm l9, and the latch I4 is raised, so that its head I5 is out of engagement with the keeper ID on the intake door 8. The intake door 8 may be swung open on its hinges 9, to permit the milk man to place the bottles in the casing 3, on the platform 24.

The spring 39 of Fig. 4 has moved the slide 31 to the right in Fig. 4, the pivot element 36 on the slide has tilted the bell crank latch 3| on its fulcrum 32, and the horizontal arm 30 of the latch is engaged with the keeper 29 on the body 4 (Fig. 2), the delivery door I I thus being latched in a closed position.

The intake door 8 is unlatched, as in Fig. 3, and may be opened. The milk man then places the bottles on the platform 24, and the weight of the bottles and their contents causes the platform 24 to swing downwardly on the studs 25, overcoming the action of the spring 21. As the platform 24 moves downwardly, the arm I 9 moves downwardly with it, because the arm is attached to the platform. The pivot element 2| in the latch |4 no longer has supporting engagement with the arm l9, at the lower end of the slot 20, and the latch M can swing downwardly to such a position that, when the intake door 8 is closed, the keeper ID on the said door will engage automatically with the head |5 of the latch I4 and hold the door closed. The downwardly projecting end of the securingmember 23 of Figs. 5 and 3 limits the downward swinging movement of the platform 24 on the studs 25.

As matters stand, at this point of the description, the milk bottles are inside the casing 3, on the platform 24, the intake door 8 is latched in a closed position, and the delivery door I l is latched in a closed position.

When the operator or purchaser wishes to get his milk, he shoves outwardly on the plunger 4| by means of the button 42. The plunger 4| engages the finger 49 of the slide 31 and moves the slide to the left in Fig. 4, against the action of the pull spring 39. The pivot element 36 on the slide 31 tilts the bell crank latch 3| on its fulcrum 32 and disengages the horizontal arm of the bell crank latch from the keeper 29 on the side of the body 4. The delivery door now is set free, and may be opened. The purchaser takes out the milk bottles, and when they are removed from the platform 24, the platform is raised by the spring 21, the parts being restored to the position of Fig. 3, and the intake door 8 being released, so that it can be opened for the introduction of milk bottles, upon occasion. When the delivery door II is closed, the mechanism shown in Fig. 4 latches or looks the: door in closed position.

For those who do not care for the plunger 4| and the latching mechanism for the door shown in Fig. 4, a simpler means is disclosed in Fig. 6. In that figure, parts hereinbefore described have been designated by numerals previously used, with the suffix it. Here the delivery door Ha carries a key-operated lock 43, the bolt 44 of which may be engaged with a keeper 45 on the body 40, of the casing 3a.

Having thus described the invention, What is claimed is:

In a milk bottle safe, a casing comprising a body and a door hingedly mounted on the body, a keeper on the body, a latch mechanism carried by the door and engageable with the keeper, the latch mechanism embodying a slide mounted on the door and having an olfset finger, a plunger mounted in the body for advancement at the will of an operator, to engage the finger, first to operate the slide and disengage the latch mechanism from the keeper, and then to swing the door toward open position, and spring means for retracting the slide, to dispose the latch mechanism in such position that it will engage the keeper when the door is closed, the plunger being moved outwardly by the retracted slide, when the door is closed.

THOMAS S. COLLINS. 

